Tilt rail structure for venetian blinds



p 1941- A. F. ZIEGLER 2,256,369

TILT RAIL STRUCTURE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed Nov. 8, 1940 M ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 16, 1941 TILT RAIL STRUCTURE FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Albert F. Ziegler, Cheviot, Ohio, assignor to Clopay Corporation, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application November 8, 1940, Serial No. 364,895 '8 Claims. (cl. 156-17) This invention relates to Venetian blinds and is directed particularly to improvements in the attachment of the cords by which the blinds are tilted to the tilt rail of the structure.

The Venetian blinds of the present invention are comprised of a tilt rail which is rotatably supported, and the blind slats are carried in ladder tapes which depend from this member. As the tilt rail is tilted, theangularity of the slats is adjusted to admit more. or less light through the blind. The tilt rail is at the top of the blind and is considerably out of reach and, consequently, various arrangements, some quite complex,'have been proposed for tilting the rail by means of operating cords depending from the upper structure of the blind. The present invention is directed particularly to a simple construction for operating the titlt rail through cords depending from it, and to a simple structure by which the cords are attached to the rail.

Other objects of the invention and the advantages which it provides will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the improvement which is illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is an elevation of the upperpart of a Venetian blind structure.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation, showing the portion of the tilt rail to which the tilting cords are attached.

Figure 3 is similar to Figure 2, but is an endwise view.

Figure 4 Ban exploded view, showing the relationship of the parts of the assembly.

Figure 5 is a perspective view, showing the assembly of the operating cords with the headrail.

The blind, as illustrated in Figure 1, is comprised of the tilt rail I; this member carries the ladder tapes 2, and the cross rungs of these ladder tapes support the blind slats 3. The tilt rail at each end is provided with a pivot, and brackets are mounted on the face or underneath portion of the top part of a window frame for journalling the pivots to support the tilt rail rotatably.

The journal bracket 4 at the one end of the tilt rail may comprise a cord lock 5, through which the cords 6 pass at a point adjacent this side of the Venetian blind. These cords 6 depend through the blind slats in the conventional manner and provide the means whereby the slats are raised or lowered. These cords may be called the lifting cords.

At the other side, of the Venetian blind, the tilting cords I are provided to furnish the means whereby the slats are tilted or angulated to control the passage of light through the .blind. It is the attachment of these cords to the tilt rail to which the present invention is addressed specifically.

At the tilting cord side of the blind structure, the journal bracket 8 is provided to support the pivot 9. The bracket 8 maybe of the usual formation, and comprises a foot portion l0 and a forwardly extending leg Ilia which contains the journal aperture for the stud 9. This bracket also may comprise a mechanism for holding the tilt rail in any given angular position to which it may have been adjusted. For instance, a series of bosses may be struck from the face of the bracket portion III to extend therefrom and provide intermediate serrations which are adapted to cooperate with a detent carried by the tilt rail.

The preferred embodiment of the attachment structure of the present invention is illustrated best in Figures 4 and 5. At the end of the tilt rail l, a slot or groove II is provided. This slot extends centrally across the endwise face. The tilt rail of a Venetian blind is usually made of wood, and the slot may be cut into the wood by means of a saw or router. The end of the tilt rail is also bored as at l2 to provide recesses which are spaced inwardly from the sidewise edges thereof. These recesses are in alignment with the groove and are of somewhat greater diameter than its width, being sufliciently large and deep to receive knots l3 provided at the ends of the operating cords 1. The slots II, on the other hand, are of such width that the unknotted portions of the operating cords will fit snugly in them. Theslot may extend all the way across the end of the tilt rail, or individual slots extending from the edges of the rail to the recesses respectively may be provided.

While knots are disclosed as the preferred means for holding the cords in the recesses, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that metal clips or similar pieces, dimensioned to fit within the recesses, may be fastened to the cords in place of the knots.

An end plate [4 is provided to house the operating cords in the groove and hold the knots residing in the bore recesses. This end plate I4 is preferably a sheet metal member, and the width of it approximates the thickness of the tilt rail, while its length approximates the width of the tilt rail. Attachment tangs |5l5 are provided at each end of the end plate. These tangs are struck from the end plate and extend transversely to it; they are thereby adapted to be impaled into the wood of the rail. The tangs are spaced apart from one another a distance greater than the width of the groove i I, so that they straddle the groove. Intermediate the tangs II, the ears It may be provided at each end of the end plate to cover the groove out to the edges of the tilt rail. The ears IS, in addition to covering the cords, serve the purpose of holding the cords away from the bracket so that they cannot be entangled with the bracket or the detention members to obstruct the operation of the blind.

The tilting cord may depend from the tilt rail in a loop, with each of its ends being attached to the tilt rail. This structure is particularly desirable because the loop is of neat appearance and the use of tassels for improving the appearance of the cut ends of the cord is avoided. However, if tassels are desired then the cord may pass through the groove II with knots or appropriate fasteners being provided at this portion to reside in the bores of the tilt rail;

For the detention of the tilt rail a central ridge or detent i1 is provided in the end plate at opposite sides of the central aperture it through which the pivot extends. This detent l1 cooperates with the serrations in the journal bracket 8.

It will be seen that the structure just described provides in a simple and inexpensive manner for the attachment of the tilting cords to the tilt rail, and for the detention of the tilt rail at a given angular position. Heretofore, the operating cords have been fastened to the tilt rail by means of staples and nails, but the difficulty has been that the cords are cut by the staples and become detached from the tilt rail after a short period of usage of the blind. In the present structure, the cord engages the wood of the rail which provides a seat that is relatively soft, so that no undue wear upon the cords takes place. As will be seen, the cords do not come into contact with any metal except the flat surface of the end plate. The cords are prevented from detachment from the tilt rail by the knots or clips residing in the bore recesses.

If desirable, the tilt rail may be yieldably urged against the bracket so that the detent engages the serrations in the end plate in any convenient manner. For example, in the structure disclosed in the drawing, the pivot shaft 9 passes through the aperture It in the end plate and is fastened in the wood of the tilt rail. The shaft extends beyond the end of the tilt rail and carries a commeans residing in said recesses for holding said cords to said tilt rail, and a plate member fastened to the end of said tilt rail over said recesses and grooves for holding the tilting cords therein.

2. A Venetian blind tilt rail having recesses in an end thereof at opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the tilt rail and being provided with grooves extending respectively from said recesses to opposite bounding edges of said tilt rail, cords for tilting said tilt rail, having portions respectively residing in said grooves and having means residing in said recesses for preventing escape of the cords therefrom, and a plate member fastened to said rail for holding said cords in said grooves and said means in said recesses.

3. A Venetian blind tilt rail having recesses in an end thereof at opposite sides of the axis of rotation of the tilt rail and being provided with grooves extending respectively from said recesses to the opposite sides of said tilt rail, cords for tilting said tilt rail, cords having portions respectively residing in said grooves and having knots residing in said recesses, and a plate member fastened to the end of said rail for holding said cords in said grooves and said knots in said recesses, the said plate member being provided with an elongated boss which extends upon opposite sides of the axis of rotation of said tilt rail and which is adapted for engagement in serrations provided in a bracket for rotatively supporting said tilt rail.

4. In a Venetian blind, the combination which comprises a bracket having a. journal means providing a plurality of serrations extending generally radially about said journal means, a rail having a shaft extending from an end thereof for rotatable engagement with said journal means of said bracket, the said rail being provided with recesses in an end thereof at opposite sides of said shaft and being provided with grooves extending from said recesses respectively toward opposite bounding edges of said rail, cords for tilting said rail having portions residing in said grooves and having restriction means residing in said recesses for preventing escape of the cords from said rail, and an end plate disposed pression spring which is housed within a cup is.

This spring operates intermediate the end of the cup, and a flange 20 is provided at the end of the shaft whereby, when the shaft is joumalled in the bracket, the spring pulls the tilt rail toward the bracket so that the detentresiliently engages the serrations in the bracket face.

To assist in the mounting of the tilt rail to the bracket, a slotted entrance-way to the journal aperture is provided in the bracket 8. When the tilt rail is to be attached to the bracket, the cup can be grasped in the one hand while the tilt rail is grasped in the other, so as to retract the cup and expose the shaft for an insertion in the entrance slot.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A combination which comprises a tilt rail of a Venetian blind, the said tilt rail having recesses in an end thereof in spaced relationship, and grooves extending respectively from said recesses to bounding edges of said end tilting cords residing within said grooves, said cords having around said shaft, fastened to the rail, and disposed to cover said recesses and said grooves.

5. In a Venetian blind, the combination which comprises a rail member having a pivot extending beyond an end thereof, the said rail member being provided with a recess in the said end in spaced relationship to said pivot and also being provided with a groove communicating with said recess for an edge of said rail member, a cord for tilting said rail member, said cord having a portion residing in said groove and having knot means residing in said recess, and a member comprising tangs extending into the rail and a plate portion covering said groove and recess.

6. In a Venetian blind, the combination which comprises a tilt rail having a pivot extending beyond an end thereof, the said rail being provided with recesses in the said end adjacent said pivot and at opposite sides thereof and also being provided with grooves in said end, extending from the recesses respectively toward the sidewise edges of said tilt rail, a cord for tilting said tilt rail, said cord having respective portions residing in said grooves and having knots residing in said recesses, and a cover member having tangs extending into the tilt rails and a plate portion housing said grooves and recesses, for fixed attachment of said operating cords to said rail,

the said tangs of said member being disposed to straddle said grooves.

7. In a Venetian blind, the combination of a tilt rail having a groove extending centrally across an end thereof and recesses positioned for communication with said groove, the said recesses being disposed in the end of said tilt rail at opposite sides of its axis of rotation, operating cords having portions residing in said grooves and having knots residing in said recesses and a plate member fastened to said tilt rail and covering said grooves and recesses in the end thereof, the plate member having a bore in alignment with the axis of rotation of said tilt rail and a shaft for rotatably supporting said tilt rail extending through said bore and into said tilt rail.

8. In a Venetian blind, a tilt rail, a plate member fastened to an end thereof, the plate member and the end of said tilt rail cooperating to define a recess and an aperture communicating with the recess from an edge of said tilt rail, an operating cord having a portion extending through said aperture and having means residing in said recess for preventing detachment of said operating cord from said rail.

ALBERT F. ZIEGLER. 

